"He's here again."

Shannon looked up from the adoption papers she had just sorted. "Again?" Bill nodded before slipping backwards out of the office, leaving the door open just a tiny crack. Shannon sighed and ran her hands through her hair as she rose from her chair and headed towards the dog wing of the animal rescue center.

She slide her card through the scanner outside the double doors that led to the dogs and waited until the light blinked green before pulling the handle back and entering the long hallway ahead of her. She kept her eyes straight forward as she passed kennel after kennel of barking dogs.

He was positioned at the end of the hall at one of the very last wire pens, crouched down, resting on the balls of his feet through his worn converse sneakers. His arms folded in his lap, dark sunglasses resting atop his head and nestled firmly in his dark hair, knees showing through his ripped jeans, his dark jacket hanging loosely over the back of his shoulders. Watching. Shannon knew exactly who he was looking at.

Almost two weeks ago now, there had been a dog fighting ring bust, just outside of the city. Police confiscated nearly 156 dogs off of the property. Animal rights groups, news reporters, anyone who was anyone all commented on what a great success the 'rescue' had been. Out of 156 of the dogs that were removed from the property, nearly 68 had to be euthanized on site due to their aggressive behavior towards humans. 68.

Several of the dogs had made their way here, to Ethen Community Humane Society. All of them pit bulls. It was then that Shannon met a small, brindle colored, female, American Pit Bull Terrier. And she fell in love.

There wasn't anything particularly special looking about the sturdy female when she was first brought in. Her tail was just off from being perfectly straight. Her ears weren't docked, but they were covered in nicks and scratches that gave them a fragile, delicate look, almost as if they could rip apart with the slightest ripple of wind. Her body was covered in scars. The more prominent ones located on her shoulders and legs. Her eyes were a strange mix of chocolatey colored brown and steel gray, like they couldn't decide which color they wanted to be so they ended up mixing the two together.

But when she was in the sun, she shone. Brilliant blacks rippled through shimmering, rolling shades of gold and bronze. She was one of the most beautiful dogs Shannon had ever seen. The first time she had ever let her run in the fenced in yard outback, she come up with a name for her almost immediately. Sunshine.

And she loved her.

"Hey." The man glanced up from the cage, not looking very surprised at all to see someone standing there. "Hey." Shannon tilted her head to the side and moved closer until she was able to look into the kennel. At the small dog that cowered lowly in the far back corner of the cramped space.

The silence between the two was heavy, despite the many dogs still barking around them and the quivering pit bull that sat in the cage before them. Shannon sighed. "How many times have you come to see her so far, Allen?" He continued to watch Sunshine. "I dunno, five, six, I lost count." The dogs around them started to calm, leaving behind the smothering silence.

Sunshine rose hesitantly, swiveling her ears to test the quiet that was now falling around her. She padded over to the door softly. Allen rested his hand in between the door and the rest of the front of the kennel. Sunshine stopped and watched him. He waited.

She reached forward, almost delicately with her muzzle, and rested her head against his hand. He smiled and let his fingers curl gently around her face. Sunshine wagged her tail softly. Back and forth. Back and forth.

He leaned in and let his forehead touch the metal. She tilted her head back and licked his chin through the wire mesh. He grinned and leaned in closer, whispering something to her that only she could hear. Her tail wagged faster. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

Shannon shifted her weight from foot to foot and looked away uncomfortably. She felt like she was intruding on a personal moment. She watched the labrador sleeping in the next kennel over for a few minutes.

Allen's whispering grew louder and suddenly it sounded... broken. Shannon looked back at him and immediately noticed the tears running down his face.

"You know then?" His tears continued to run but he never took his eyes off the dog. He whispered, "Can't you test her again?" She smiled sadly, feeling herself to be on the verge of tears as well. "Allen, she failed the food aggression test, the stress related aggression test, and the dog aggression test. She's dangerous. I know it hurts, but the only thing we can do to make her life better is to put her down." He blinked the tears out of his eyes furiously as his head snapped around to glare at you. "If someone worked with her she could get better!"

Shannon shook her head slowly, "We don't have time to work with all of them, Al. And even if someone did want to work with her, we can't risk it. The liability is just to much. If we got sued because she attacked someone..." His glare deepened "Is that all you care about? Money?" Shannon felt several tears trace their way down her cheek. Her voice came out thickly. "Not matter how much we want to, we just can't save all of them. I'm sorry, it hurts me too. Say goodbye Al, the vet's gonna come euthanize her in the morning." Her chest hurt as she walked out of the dog wing and returned to her desk.

She wiped her face hurriedly to try and erase the proof of her sadness and heartache.

It didn't work.